From November 1914 until March 1918 there was stalemate on
the Western Front as both sides stuck to their trenches for protection

Between the two opposing sets of trenches was No Man's Land
which any attacking troops had to cross

Both sides used thick belts of barbed wire to protect the trenches.
Troops caught up in the wire became easy targets for the enemy
machine gunners and snipers

In an attack the soldiers had to get out of their trenches,
pass through their own barbed wire, cross No Man's Land, go through
the enemy barbed wire and into their trenches. This proved almost
impossible

No Man's Land and the trenches quickly became very muddy.
This was because of the wet climate in France and Belgium and
because the heavy guns destroyed the drains so water could not
get away

The mud was so thick that men disappeared into it and were
never seen again

Corpses lay all around the battlefield and this encouraged
rats and lice

These two forms of vermin spread diseases such as Trench
Fever and Weil's Disease

The mud and the cold caused many soldiers to suffer from trench
foot

The mud got into wounds and caused many of them to go gangrenous

At night soldiers were sent out on raids across No Man's Land
to capture a few Germans and bring them back as prisoners of war
to be interrogated by Military Intelligence

Also at night soldiers were ordered to repair trenches, barbed
wire or sandbags. This meant going out into No Man's Land where
the greatest danger was. Sometimes the enemy would fire up flares
which would show the Germans exactly where everyone was and the
machine guns would rattle

The Generals' Headquarters tended to be many miles behind the
trenches. A cause of much resentment to the front line soldiers

Read pages 40 - 41 and answer these questions

What was the difference between British and German trenches?

What caused mud and why was it a major problem?

What other problems did the soldiers face in the trenches?
( a common exam question)

What was the impact of these conditions on some soldiers?

NoteShell shock or neurasthenia was a common condition caused
by exposure to long term heavy shelling. The victims became disoriented,
they shook violently and found it difficult to carry out their
military duties. Some even wandered away from the trenches or
got lost in No Man's Land

Treatment depended very much on rank. Officers were sent to
army nursing homes such as Craiglockhart in Edinburgh where with
good food, rest, clean surroundings and an early form of counselling
they recovered.

Non officers were not so lucky. Some were subjected to electric
shock treatment to force them to recover their nerve. Others
found wandering from or in the battlefield were charged with cowardice,
quickly tried and shot at dawn.

Document ExerciseHow typical is source C of conditions in the western front?